The Life Beyond
by taamiv
Summary: “Where am I?” Itachi said out loud, knowing he was probably only speaking to himself. “Am I dead?” Contains spoilers from manga chapters 400 up.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This story isn't intended to force my views of the afterlife on anyone. The afterlife is something that is different across every religion, but since there is no talk of religion in Naruto (Besides Jashin's!) I went with an approach that did not include a visible God. You can interpret what exists beyond the scope of this story on your own. I was inspired by a doujinshi of Tobi talking to a dead Deidara. I'm not sure where that doujinshi came from exactly. I'm trying to create my own doujinshi out of this storyline, and if I ever finish, I will post a link in my profile to it. I'm aware that Itachi might seem a bit ooc, but it's my belief that the stoic side of him was mostly just an act. ;)

Spoilers up to manga chapter 402! You've been warned!

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"Uhhhhn." Black eyes opened slowly, almost painfully, adjusting to the new white light that surrounded him blindingly bright. "Where am I?" Itachi said out loud, knowing he was probably only speaking to himself. "Am I dead?"

He lay there for a few more moments, allowing his eyes to adjust to the light that really was too bright. Even his formerly superior eyes couldn't adjust immediately.

"That's right. I shouldn't be able to see anything," he whispered to himself. He knew that the last battle with his brother had drained him of everything he had, including his vision. He had barely been able to see the blurry form of Sasuke as he wobbled towards his younger brother, but even that sight had been fading fast. The last thing he remembered seeing before collapsing was Sasuke's astonished face. Itachi knew that his brother had heard his last words: "I'm sorry, Sasuke. There won't be a next time." Itachi closed his eyes again as he pondered what may have happened after that. He hoped that Sasuke had managed to walk away from that fight before Madara found him, but he knew that wasn't likely. He could only hope that the gift he had bestowed on Sasuke managed to kill Madara. That was also not likely. He frowned. Now that he was dead, he couldn't protect Sasuke anymore. He could only hope that his brother's strength, and strength of will, was enough.

Itachi tried opening his eyes again. This time the light didn't seem so blinding, and he sat up with a groan. A sharp pain shot through his head, and his right hand shot up to cradle his forehead. "Ugh… aren't headaches supposed to go away when you die?" he grumbled. Itachi heard a laugh from behind him and he glanced in that direction, still cradling his head.

"So, the stoic Uchiha_ can_ show pain, hmm?" the smirking visage of Deidara appeared. Ah. That's right. Deidara had died before he had. But what was he doing here, with him? "It's ironic that it's only in death though."

Itachi glared sharply at the blond. "Shut it," he mumbled. Deidara only grinned wider.

"So… Itachi…" he started with a devious look on his face. "Your little brother pwned you too huh?" Itachi felt his jaw drop, but he quickly schooled his face again. What the hell was Deidara doing provoking him?

"So maybe I let him. You ever think of that?" he intoned, letting himself show some annoyance.

"Touchy, hmm?" Deidara smiled. "I should be the touchy one. Considering I didn't get to off you myself."

"…What do you want, Deidara?" Itachi spat out.

"Want?" Deidara looked confused. "This isn't about what I want. I'm here because that's my punishment, hmm. To look after you when you get here."

That surprised Itachi. Deidara had to be here? And where was here anyway? Deidara noted his changing expression.

"I can see what you're thinking. No, we aren't in Hell… I don't think there is an actual place called Hell beyond what all the living imagine. But we aren't in Heaven either," Deidara trailed off, letting his eyes grow unfocused. "I'm not even sure what compels me to be here, except for the fact that I knew I had to be." His eyes snapped back towards Itachi's. "I have a feeling I can't find my heaven without finishing this animosity between us. A shame, because I like picking on you." He grinned again.

"So where are we then?" Itachi asked quietly. Deidara's eyes unfocused again. He looked like he was deep in thought.

"Well… I'm not entirely sure, because I haven't met anyone else yet to ask, hmm. All I know is what I get through feelings. But I think this is a halfway point. I have a feeling we need to resolve conflicted emotions before we can move any farther." Deidara trailed off.

"Conflicted emotions?"

"Yeah. For example, I've already worked through some of the stuff that made me a missing-nin in the first place. I'm almost ready to find my heaven, except for the fact that I am still partially earthbound by my resentment for you. So this is one of the things I must do, to help you now when I wouldn't have in life."

Itachi's eyes widened. He didn't expect that. Deidara couldn't move on because of him? He gave a huff of a laugh. He wondered idly why he himself couldn't move on. He wasn't an evil person, not really. His loyalty to Konoha proved that. He gave up everything for them, and was keeping an eye on Akatsuki from the inside for them. But it wasn't really entirely for them, was it? It was also for his brother.

"Sasuke," he said quietly. Yes, that was why he couldn't move on. He could literally feel the strong ties that bound him to his former life, to the only family he had left.

The only family he could not kill.

Deidara looked curiously at Itachi. So… the little brother was the reason the Uchiha was still here, rather than moving on to his heaven?

"Itachi… I know from being here that you weren't who you said you were when we were in Akatsuki," Deidara said softly. "And while that makes me angry that you brought me into that damned organization while not even believing in it yourself, I also know that's not why you haven't moved on. You're here because you're still bound by your brotherly love, hmm?"

Itachi let the corners of his mouth tilt up slightly as he remembered.

"Hmm." He acknowledged. It was true. He had steeled himself against the fact that his life would never be the same once he performed the mission given to him by the elders of Konoha. He hadn't thought too much about it, actually. It had hurt to kill his family, but it had been necessary for the safety of the village he had loved. The only thing that he regretted, though, was the fact that he could not protect his brother from the realities of the world. He had protected his brother from Konoha, from Orochimaru, from Akatsuki. But he could not protect him from the growing darkness of his heart. In fact, he had encouraged it at the time because he had needed Sasuke to kill him, for his place to be assured back in Konoha as a hero. He didn't need anyone finding out about the Uchiha family's almost-rebellion and labeling Sasuke negatively. For his own sake and for Sasuke's, he'd needed the Uchiha family to be revived and restored to its former state of glory. He smiled bitterly. There were a lot of things he would have done differently if he had the chance. But the circumstances _hadn't_ been better, and the relationship between himself and Sasuke had been damaged beyond repair. He kept his eyes trained downwards for a long time, thinking, and when he next looked up his surroundings had changed.

"Is this your old home in Konoha, Itachi?" Deidara asked curiously. Itachi looked surprised. The previous location of endless white void had faded, and now he was standing in a replica of his old home. There was no familiar bustle of many Uchiha, but he credited that to the fact that his family had moved on to their own heavens. He nodded once in answer to Deidara's question. This compound was identical to the one he had left as a young teenager, except for all of the blood and bodies. It was as if the massacre had never happened, as if all the Uchiha had just picked up and left. It was quiet, but he could hear the soft rustling of the wind in the leaves in the surrounding trees. He closed his eyes and let the wind rush over him. It felt good to be back here, and yet… he wished he could see his family. Especially Sasuke and their mother. He wished he could be back in the real compound before all this happened, to feel as innocent as he had once been before all the plots, all the deception.

"Nii-san?" A small childish voice asked in the distance. Itachi's eyes widened before he spun around to face the noise. "It is you. I've been waiting for a long time." A small black blur shot towards Itachi and latched on in a tight hug. It couldn't be. Sasuke wasn't dead yet, and yet why was this younger version of his brother here?

"What's going on?" Itachi looked towards Deidara with a confused expression. Deidara looked equally surprised.

"Hmm. Maybe it's a part of the lesson you need to learn before you can move on," replied the blond, although his eyebrows were still furrowed in confusion.

"It can't really be Sasuke, can it?" Itachi wondered.

"Don't ask me, ask him. Maybe he knows what he is, hmm."

There might be something to that. Itachi returned his gaze to the young boy with a tight grip on him. Sasuke was nuzzling into the front of his shirt, and he looked deliriously happy. Itachi knew this couldn't be the real Sasuke, and yet he couldn't help the warm feeling that swelled his heart. He shot a soft smile down at the young boy. This Sasuke looked like the one he had known just before the massacre. He even had that same sweet, happy personality that he had before the darkness overwhelmed him. Before he knew it, his arms had snaked around his brother's shoulders, returning the embrace.

"Nii-san, I was so lonely! I've been here all alone for a very long time, and I thought you'd never come!" came the petulant voice of the younger Uchiha. Itachi loosened the embrace and knelt down until he was eye level with Sasuke.

"I'm sorry I was late," he whispered back. Sasuke grinned.

"It's all right, nii-san, because you're here now."

Itachi just looked at his younger brother with a soft smile on his face, just drinking in his appearance. So what if this was just some sort of illusion? This is what he wanted, to have his brother look at him with the same love they used to share, at least one more time.

"Listen to me very carefully, Sasuke," Itachi began, as his brother nodded solemnly. "I don't want to frighten you, but I'm dead. I'm dead and you're not. So I'm not sure why I'm seeing you now." There was a long silence, and Itachi almost expected his brother to disappear into thin air after that. Then came a soft chuckle from Sasuke.

"I know that you're dead, nii-san, and I know that I'm dead as well." Itachi was shocked.

"What?"

"Not in the way you think though…" Sasuke looked down at his feet. "The real me is alive… I can feel the rest of my energy out there somewhere. This is… this is the innocent me, the younger brother you used to know before all this happened. This part of me died with the rest of the family."

More silence. Itachi had a pained expression on his face as did Sasuke. Itachi suddenly wished he hadn't said anything, wished that he could have just enjoyed the experience of seeing Sasuke again. He lowered his head as he felt the first pricklings of something he hadn't experienced in a long time. Tears. They filled his eyes and spilled over, leaving wet tracks down his face. Sasuke stayed silent, but he was aware of the emotional turmoil Itachi was going through. Concern filled him as he watched the older Uchiha.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Sasuke." Itachi's broken voice filtered up from behind the hair covering his lowered face. Abruptly, he tugged his brother closer to him and held him in a tight embrace. He never wanted to let go again. Regret filled him, and he swallowed, trying in vain to lessen the painful lump in his throat.

"I-if… if I could change anything, I never would have hurt you, Sasuke," he gasped out, hating the weakness evident in his voice but doing nothing to cover it. Sasuke deserved more from him. "But if this is really part of your soul, and you really are dead, then why didn't you go your heaven with our family?"

Sasuke was still looking down at his feet as he replied.

"Because this _is_ my heaven, nii-san. This is where I feel the closest to you."

Itachi broke down completely.

Deidara watched the pair for a long time, watching as they both received closure. He almost felt the urge to say something petty at Itachi about showing emotions, but something inside of him prevented that. Who's to say he wouldn't act that emotional when he finally met the family he had himself betrayed. His loved ones. He wondered idly when he could go to see them. He was lost in thought for so long that he didn't notice Itachi and Sasuke come up to him, hand in hand. Sasuke was smiling, and Itachi had the ghost of a smile as well. Something in his eyes still looked broken though.

"So, Itachi. Have you resolved what you needed to in order to move on?" Deidara glanced sideways at his old comrade. Itachi replied with a shake of his head.

"I feel like I've resolved part of it. I wish I could have done more to change what happened. Maybe I couldn't have done anything at all. But… I need to be here when the rest of Sasuke's soul dies… I need to be the one to help him reach his heaven. He'll need the help if this part of him no longer exists within him," he said, gesturing at Sasuke. Itachi smiled wider, and this time it reached his eyes. "So I guess… thank you for meeting me here. I'm sorry for whatever pain I've caused you as well, Deidara."

Deidara looked surprised at first, then his trademark wide grin crossed his face, but this time it wasn't a sarcastic smile. It was genuine.

"I'm no saint. I deserved a lot of what I got, hmm. But… I appreciate you saying that." Deidara inwardly winced when he realized he couldn't antagonize Itachi anymore without feeling guilty. But that was the price of salvation, right? His smile was smaller now, but no less genuine as he watched Itachi return his attention to his little brother.

"Come on, Sasuke. Let's go practice. I'll teach you more about throwing kunai."

As they faded away, Deidara's world returned to the white glow of the void he had been in for a long time after his own death. He inwardly felt like he didn't have anything left that was holding him back.

"I hope I can see my family soon. I don't want to feel alone anymore," he whispered quietly to himself. Almost as soon as he said it, from behind him the glowing white light became more intense. He spun around to face it, and his eyes and smile widened as recognition of his loved ones dawned on his face.

"It's time to come home, Deidara."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: At this point in time, I've gotten no reviews! LOL, but that's ok, because this is mostly written for myself. Reading about Itachi suddenly being this incredibly sympathetic character makes me want to know more about what his opinions are of all this. I had intended for this to be a one shot, but I just sat down and started typing this after reading the new chapter of the manga this week. Something about that smile of Itachi's, the one directed at Naruto, seems so sad. He obviously knows he's about to die and that his only hope to salvage both his brother and his hometown is this young man who hasn't even reached his full potential yet. He knows that Naruto can be counted on to do everything possible to avoid killing Sasuke before considering taking him down. His love for his brother is so strong, and it just makes one wish that Sasuke deserved it. :P

I'm not entirely sure where this is going and how long it will be, I'm mostly writing when the inspiration strikes me. I intend for the next chapter to focus more on earth than heaven though. I expect that this storyline will diverge from canon, but I can try to put in edits here and there if I get information from new chapters that I want to keep in.

Spoiler warnings continue.

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Time seemed to have no meaning in heaven, Deidara mused, sprawled out on the endless fields of grass mixed with the occasional clumps of wildflowers. He felt like he had been here for years, centuries even, and if it hadn't been for the occasional glance down at life on the plane of the living, he never would have known that only a few days had passed since Itachi had died. A thoughtful look crossed his face as he thought of his old comrade. He wondered how Itachi was faring... did time pass as slowly in the half-point that he still existed in? And how was he coping with the fact that he had a not-fully-there brother that didn't seem to care about the Uchiha massacre, but who _would_ care when he was made full again? He hoped that Sasuke didn't give Itachi a hard time when it was finally time for him to die.

He was such a sap nowadays. Sometimes he missed the plentiful arguments that he got out of being in Akatsuki, even if some of them were one sided. There were too many stoic members of that damned organization, although he remembered Kisame and Hidan as being fun to verbally spar with. Tobi annoyed the shit out of him though. He sure didn't see it coming that Tobi was not really Tobi, but rather Madara, the one pulling the strings behind Akatsuki. Deidara would have attempted to kill Tobi for real if he had known. It had probably been his idea to recruit the explosives expert, too. Damn him.

Deidara also kind of missed trying to get a rise out of Itachi. In life, they couldn't stand each other, but being dead and achieving salvation made him grow more of a soft spot for Itachi. He'd never admit it though, but he wished that he'd had a brother somewhat like the Uchiha. He might not have messed up so badly in life if he'd had someone that cared that much for him. Although... that didn't seem to save Sasuke. Deidara grinned. He wanted to keep an eye on Sasuke, if just to see how crazy he planned on getting. He had seen the declaration of war on Konoha, and while it somewhat amused him, he wondered how Itachi was going to take it when he realized that his worst fears had come to pass. Deidara, having been able to achieve the salvation that had at first eluded him, had the opportunity to look back on the living plane, at not only the present but at past events too. He had decided to spend some of his time here viewing the events leading up to Itachi's death, and he had seen the Uchiha's interaction with the nine tailed fox's jinchuuriki. So... Itachi had planned for the chance that his brother would have been taken in by Madara, hmm? And that he would then turn his vengeance filled heart towards Konoha? Deidara's grin turned into a smirk. Itachi had planned for everything. He wondered idly if it was against heaven's rules to go visit the poor souls trapped between life and death. Itachi would not have had the opportunities he'd had in viewing the happenings in the world of the living.

Itachi had spent most of the time he had been dead so far at the Uchiha compound with his younger brother. He knew that this wasn't a real place, and that it was constructed out of his memories. He knew in his heart that it wasn't even his entire brother that resided here with him, and yet... he couldn't bring himself to leave, not when the young Sasuke seemed to enjoy being here so much. He really was a remnant of the past if he got so much delight out of being here with Itachi.

He smiled, and continued watching his brother with the shuriken practice they'd been at for quite some time. He realized that this practice was unnecessary, as war did not exist here, yet his guilt made him want to do something that he was far too busy for while he had been in Konoha. He had always felt guilty that he had not spent more time with Sasuke, but his ANBU missions had come first at the time. They had come first all the way to the end of his life, since the massacre had been a mission, and his allowance of Sasuke to kill him had also been a mission, albeit a personal one. Now he felt it was only right that he do something for this Sasuke.

He took his eyes off of his brother, and sat down on the grass some ways from Sasuke, but still close enough to call out words of encouragement from time to time. He leaned backwards on his hands, legs straight out in front of him, and let a pensive frown cross his face as he thought of his current situation. He didn't know it, but time here worked at a more similar pace to that on the living plane as it did in heaven, but he had still been here longer than had passed on earth. Itachi estimated his time here to have been at least three weeks. He wondered how things were going for the older, more vengeful Sasuke, and for the young jinchuuriki that he had entrusted his backup plan to. He had hoped it would not come down to Plan C, as he called it; Plan A being that Sasuke did not meet Madara at all, Plan B that the Amaterasu he had implanted into his brother would kill him. Failing those two plans, he hoped Plan C at least was a success: stopping Sasuke before he could destroy the homeland that Itachi had tried so hard to save. He smiled faintly. He knew if it came down to that, that he had chosen the most reliable person he could find to stop his brother without having to kill him. He knew it would be naïve to think that the powers he had given the jinchuuriki would be enough, but at this point all he could do was hope. Hope that Uzumaki Naruto would find another way to gain more power in time.

He was interrupted from his thoughts by a familiar presence from behind him. He raised one eyebrow gracefully. What was Deidara doing back here?

Deidara eyed the reclining Uchiha with a mixture of fondness and distaste. He still couldn't place what his thoughts were on his former rival and comrade. He knew that he didn't really carry a grudge against him anymore, but old habits die hard. _Habits don't even die when the person with them does,_ Deidara snickered to himself. He could tell that Itachi knew he was here, as he had turned his head slightly to better hear what it was that Deidara had to say. He didn't completely face him though, and Deidara assumed that he had surprised Itachi by coming back.

"Don't worry Itachi. I_ have _moved on to my heaven, so you can stop worrying about me being back here to stay and annoy you."

"So the objective is to annoy me then go home?" came the disinterested sounding reply. Deidara rolled his eyes.

"Smart ass. Since when did you make jokes about anything?" He shot back.

"Since it was no longer necessary to maintain a front lest I get found out and terminated. It was easier to keep everyone from butting into my business when I maintained a façade of aloofness."

Good point. Deidara dropped it and walked over to where Itachi was reclining, and sat down several feet away. He stayed silent for a long while, but couldn't help fidgeting slightly. He never was good at being patient. He wanted Itachi to ask him what he was doing here, so that he could nonchalantly tell him what he'd been observing on earth and make it seem like he wasn't as eager as he really was to help out his former nemesis. He still had his pride, after all.

Itachi knew what he was up to. He smirked inwardly. Deidara wanted to tell him something, and he could see that he was fidgeting like a small child with his lack of patience. Deidara hadn't really had the time to grow out of some of his childish tendencies. He'd died too young. They'd both died too young, really, but Itachi hadn't felt young himself for a long time. He'd been conditioned by his family to be the perfect weapon, and weapons were not allowed to have a normal childhood, at least not in the Uchiha clan. If it hadn't ruined their lives so completely, he would have almost been _glad_ to see the clan die out. They were too militaristic for his tastes.

But Deidara must have not even made it to eighteen before he had gone and blown himself up. Itachi didn't know his exact age, since they'd never been close enough to discuss that, but Deidara had been quite young looking when he'd first been recruited. He was at _least _two years younger than Itachi, and Itachi had been a missing-nin at a young age. So it didn't surprise him with how rashly Deidara acted sometimes. Itachi suspected if he hadn't grown up with the harsh environment in which he was raised that he might have been just as impulsive. It wasn't uncommon for young men to be like that, at least not for civilians. It was a bit of a liability for young ninja, however; Deidara's presence in the afterlife proved that.

By this point, Deidara looked like he was fuming, although to his credit he was fuming quietly. Itachi finally let his inward smirk out and glanced questioningly at the blond.

"Well?" He said knowingly.

"You think you can read me that easily? Well fuck you too, hmm," Deidara snapped. He knew it was true though, and that just made him more annoyed. He wanted to wipe the knowing smirk off of that bastard's face.

"Such rough language for a so called _angel_," Itachi's smirk widened. He had wanted so badly to be able to toy with Deidara like this in life, but he'd needed to maintain his calm, collected façade. Of course, that façade wasn't a total stretch, but sometimes he needed to be a little carefree, after all.

"Shut up." Deidara looked uncomfortable. "Never said I was an angel, hmm. That implies I'm some goody two shoes that goes around saving people in distress."

Itachi was amused.

"So tell me why you're here then? Do you like spending time with me that much, or am I someone in distress that 'needs saving'?"

"..."

"Well?"

"...I hate you."

"I know."

And yet he knew it wasn't really true. Itachi raised an eyebrow at Deidara, waiting for the answer. It took another moment for Deidara to finish seething before he snapped out,

"I've been watching earth for you. You know, to see what your brother's been up to. Thought you would have wanted to know."

Both of Itachi's eyebrows rose up at that. He knew that their relationship was better than it had been in life, but he hadn't expected that Deidara would go out of his way to do something that wasn't selfish in some way. He guessed that death had improved his old comrade.

"Yeah. So it looks like Sasuke's gone a bit insane with your passing," Deidara smirked. "You should be flattered. He _seems_ to love you again, at least enough to avenge your 'manipulation' by Konoha."

Itachi stiffened.

"What?"

"He's declared war on your hometown. Seems he won't stop until it's destroyed," Deidara's smirk fell as he became more serious. "You knew that this was a possibility, though, hmm?"

Itachi nodded slowly. He had thought it might come to this, which is why he had gifted the Uzumaki with some of his power. He had very much hoped that this would not come to pass, though. _Damn_ that Madara and his manipulations. He just wasn't satisfied with the destruction of the Uchiha, was he? No, he had to break the promise he had made to Itachi all those years ago, the one where he said he would not harm Konoha if Itachi helped him to take revenge on the clan. Itachi sat up straight and felt his fists clench tightly. He really wished that he could intervene right now, that he had some power to influence the living. He hated putting his trust in other people, they so often failed him.

_Uzumaki... you had better make me glad that I placed my faith in you. Don't fail me. Show me you can live up to your ninja way._


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Sorry for the wait. I don't really like this chapter, but it's going to have to be good enough since it's been awhile since I posted. I also wanted to check out what was going to happen with the manga, since I want to keep the story as realistic as possible. I'm going to start deviating from the manga a bit, and the first scene is already a deviation from canon but it isn't unreasonable in my opinion. I'm thinking of bringing Jiraiya into the story in the next chapter or two, he'd be fun to write I think. By the way, I'm going to try to keep my next chapter's status in my profile so if you want to know where I'm at you can check there.

Sorry if the POV jumping gets confusing, I'm going to be using markers to show where a POV changes, as long as this site doesn't eat them. ;D

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Sai was restless. He'd just gotten home with the rest of his comrades and he was so full of energy he didn't even feel like staying put long enough to draw something in his sketchbook. Thus, he had decided to go run laps around Konoha for the time being. It gave him an opportunity to zone out and think about their last mission. Sai didn't claim to know much about feelings yet, but he knew enough to know that the other two young team Kakashi members must be feeling pain. From what they had explained to him, they must feel now as Sai himself had once felt for his brother.

_I'm not entirely sure why they want someone like him back though, but I suppose I can understand their feelings._

He wanted to try to improve himself, so that he could help his new comrades with their goal of retrieving their friend. Even if it meant that he'd be displaced from the team when the Uchiha returned. He knew that if that happened, they could still be friends if not a team. He gave his fake smile. He'd be okay with that.

He was almost out of a large forested section southeast of Konoha when he heard voices that sounded familiar. Curious, he immediately masked his chakra and stopped running. Using all of his stealth abilities, he quietly pulled out a mini-sketchbook that he always had in his equipment pouch and quickly drew a tiny winged beetle on the smooth paper. Releasing it from the sketchbook with the tiniest application of chakra, he let himself tie some of his senses to the insect. Walking quietly away from the voices with his own body in case they came in his direction, he allowed the beetle to fly over to the voices and perch on a nearby tree.

"This had better be good, Danzou," Utatane Koharu muttered. She had an irritable expression on her face like always. Beside her, Mitokado Homura nodded seriously.

"Oh, it is, don't worry. I wouldn't bring you out here for just anything. No, this is about _that incident_ with the Uchiha."

"Uchiha? Then does it mean that it's true? He's finally completed his mission?"

_Mission? Does he mean Sasuke or Itachi?_

"Yes. He's no longer our concern. What is of concern is the younger one. He will become a problem."

_Itachi then. What does he mean by mission?_

"Couldn't your subordinate handle him?" Homura glared at Danzou.

"He's been… unuseful lately. I have yet to determine if he is still trustworthy."

_He's talking about me and my failure to assassinate Sasuke, isn't he? _

Koharu sighed.

"The Uchiha must be dealt with, and quickly. The teams Tsunade is sending after him may succeed one of these days, and it would be preferable to deal with him before that happens. Otherwise, Tsunade's softness may cause her to look the other way when exacting the proper punishment."

"Yes, but if the reports we have are true, then he may now be with very powerful company. It may be best to wait until we better know the situation, and can plan accordingly." Homura chided his fellow elder.

Danzou scowled.

"I don't like to admit it, but you're right. We need more information. But as soon as we can be guaranteed an opportunity, he must be taken down. Until then, continue as if nothing's changed. That is all."

The two elders nodded once at Danzou, and took their leave. Danzou stood still for a couple of minutes, as though thinking, and then made his way back to the village. Sai took that time to dispel the ink beetle and to make sure he stayed well hidden while Danzou was still in the vicinity. He'd feel bad about spying on his own leader if he had a normal person's sense of guilt, but he didn't, so that didn't concern him.

_That wasn't much more than I already knew, _thought Sai. _I knew they wanted to get rid of Sasuke, but they still haven't said why. But what was that about Uchiha Itachi and a mission? He hasn't been in contact with Konoha for years, so why…?_

Filing away the information for thinking over later, he continued on his run around the village, at least until he was stopped by Kakashi.

oOo

_I told myself I would never be weak again…. So why do I feel so helpless? _

Haruno Sakura sat on the edge of her bed, looking down at her hands folded across her lap. Their mission had just recently ended, and all the participating nin were resting at home. There weren't any major injuries this time, thankfully. Sakura was grateful for that at least, and yet her heart felt emptier than it had in a long time. She was so sure that they'd get Sasuke back once he'd completed his revenge. They'd tracked down the location of the two Uchiha brothers' battle, and Kiba had found the spot where they had both collapsed. But they'd missed getting to Sasuke in time. Disheartened, all they could do was to return to Konoha. It would be too dangerous at that point in time to try to follow the two Akatsuki, even if they could track them. Based on the jutsu the one with the orange mask had, he would have been untraceable if he'd transported himself and the two Uchiha far away.

"Damn it!" She cried out, tightening her fists until she could feel droplets of blood on her palms from her nails. Without even having to think of it, she quickly healed the crescent shaped cuts. Her mind was focused on their failure. She knew that as sad and angry as she was right now, Naruto was worse off. She'd seen the desperation in his eyes. When would they be able to retrieve Sasuke? He had to want to come home _now, _or did he have something else he needed to do before then? She clearly remembered that one of his two goals in life was to revive the clan. Didn't that mean he'd have to settle down and find a wife? And he had to know that it would be impossible to settle down with anyone as a missing-nin. Konoha wouldn't leave him be long enough for that. So why wasn't he coming home of his own volition? Was he held captive? She knew that it might be very possible. He was strong, but if it was Akatsuki, he may not be strong enough to escape. It didn't even cross her mind that he might not want to come home.

_Tap, tap._

Sakura lifted her gaze towards her bedroom window at the noise. She was not surprised to see Kakashi sensei. He was one of the only people to regularly come to her window rather than the front door when they were called away to a mission. She was surprised, however, that he was here so soon… she didn't think that they'd already been assigned another mission. Maybe Tsunade-sama wanted to debrief with all of them again? Perhaps there was something to clarify about their written report. Sakura stood up and walked over to the window. Kakashi had jumped back down to the ground by now, waiting for her to join him. She followed him down, smoothing her hands over her skirt to straighten it back out. She tucked a wayward strand of pink hair back behind her ear and then glanced at her team leader.

"Tsunade needs to talk to the team, but she wants to talk to us first, without Naruto."

Sakura then noticed Sai hanging back a ways, waiting for them.

What could be going on?

oOo

Naruto was sprawled across his bed, recalling his meeting with Itachi. Something about that meeting seemed off to him. Itachi was supposed to be a cold hearted criminal, right? What reason could he possibly have to not capture Naruto, or at least subdue him long enough for one of his Akatsuki comrades to come there and get him themselves? He knew that what Itachi had deemed more important was the impending battle with his brother. That shark guy had to be around somewhere though, right? It just didn't make sense.

_That look on his face didn't look like something a cold-hearted bastard would give me, though…_

Naruto remembered their chat. He remembered how Itachi had questioned his loyalty to Sasuke, and then when Naruto refused to give up, had smiled so faintly that it would've been easy for anyone to miss it, but he hadn't. It almost looked like Itachi was happy to find someone with the strength of will that Uzumaki Naruto possessed. But this was the clan killer, the S-ranked criminal in an organization that wanted to rip the demon out of him, thereby killing him.

And what did Itachi mean, he'd given Naruto some of his power? Now _that _was definitely out of character. What kind of power? Naruto felt uneasy about that. He didn't want to just be given something like that. He wanted to gain power all on his own to prove himself. Getting power so easily didn't sit well with him; it reminded him too much of what Sasuke would have done, as much as he loved his 'brother'. Naruto sighed. He'd have to wait and see, it didn't feel like it was an ability he could call up at will anyway.

Naruto knew that he was obligated to report the meeting with the Uchiha to either Kakashi-sensei or Tsunade-baa-chan. He wanted to mull this over in his mind for awhile first though, and then maybe he'd bring it up at the next meeting. They were due to be called in to discuss the situation with the Hokage. Maybe one of them would have an idea why Itachi had been acting so strange.

oOo

The three members of team Kakashi that had been summoned all stared at their Hokage, shocked. Sakura didn't think she'd seen Kakashi this surprised in a long time, but her mind wasn't on that right now.

Oh no, oh no…. She couldn't be serious? Sorrow immediately filled her as she looked disbelievingly at Tsunade. Poor Naruto, he was going to be crushed. She'd noticed how Naruto was increasingly quiet and pensive, and she didn't think she could stand to see his formerly bright spirit dulled yet again.

"You're… you're sure about that?" Sakura stammered out, holding her breath as she waited for the answer. Her shishou looked down at her desk while she answered.

"As sure as I can be without seeing it myself. He sent a message back to us through the frogs."

Sakura released the breath she'd been holding. So it was true. Glancing at the frogs surrounding the desk, she noticed how sullen they all seemed. They'd witnessed it and brought back information. Naruto's sensei, Jiraiya-sama, was dead. Tears filled her eyes and she wiped them away with the back of her hand. She glanced at her team. Kakashi and Sai weren't crying, but she didn't expect them to. Sai couldn't be blamed, she didn't know if he'd even met Jiraiya, but he had to have heard of him. He had an expression of mild surprise though, and she assumed that was the most he could probably feel about the situation anyway. Kakashi never seemed to cry about anything, but she noticed the almost imperceptible clench of his fist as he looked straight ahead at the Hokage. He must feel awful too, since his own sensei had been mentored by the frog sannin. They would have crossed paths quite a bit.

"We are going to be informing Naruto about this momentarily. Kakashi, if you would please go find him and bring him here," Tsunade said softly. Kakashi nodded and poofed away in a swirl of leaves. Tsunade just looked at the two remaining with a strange expression before speaking again.

"I'm sure you are both aware of how upset Naruto is going to be about this… I know I probably don't even need to ask this of you, but please be there for him. He's going to need all the friends he can get right now."

Sakura nodded at Tsunade, who nodded back before she stood and walked over to the window and stared out of the glass and the town below for the remainder of the time before Naruto arrived.

oOo

Deidara was back in his heaven again, enjoying the pleasant eternal sunshine. He'd been people-watching earlier, and now he lay on the soft grass processing what he'd seen. Since there was so much time in heaven, he'd seen an awful lot. Another day or two had passed in Earth time, which meant what felt like another century had passed. Deidara suspected that he could control the flow of time as he perceived it, but he didn't mind how slow it was flowing. It gave him more opportunity to watch every detail of the lives of everyone who'd been remotely connected to him down on Earth. He'd watched his old comrades first, and noted with disgust how Madara's plans were all coming together. This is what he'd sacrificed himself for? He was consoled by the fact that his death was in fact very artistic. He still respected art, especially his own art, but the perspective that heaven gave him made him realize that blowing himself up probably wasn't the smartest idea he'd come up with. He'd never forget the look of shock on Sasuke's face though. Deidara's lips curled into a smirk.

After watching Akatsuki for awhile, he turned his gaze on his old hidden village, then on some random people in Rock that were setting up a fireworks display for some festival (that interested him so he looked at them for quite awhile, repeating the scene several times). After watching every single person in the bingo book, he finally watched some of the goings on of the village that had spawned his former nemesis: Konoha. They had some strong ninja there, and they were all connected somehow to Itachi and his brother. He knew that the kyuubi jinchuuriki and his team had been chasing the younger Uchiha, so he figured if he was going to do Itachi any more favors he'd have to watch them eventually.

He noted with interest that they all seemed to be gathering to discuss one of the Legendary Sannin's demise. Deidara went back in time to the moment of Jiraiya's death and watched it several times, appreciating the skill involved in that battle. He'd never really seen Pein in action while he'd been alive. Jumping back ahead in time he decided to watch some of the jinchuuriki's team for awhile to see if they had any inkling of the plans of the Uchiha they were so desperately pursuing. They didn't seem to know anything, and Deidara was almost about to switch back over to the fireworks display again when he came across the scene of Sai spying on the Konoha elders. Well. That might be interesting.

When he'd learned everything that Sai had, and the scene continued to the point where he was approached by Kakashi and brought to the Hokage, he'd stopped paying attention and this brought him to what he was presently doing: thinking everything over. It was obvious he had to pay some attention to those Konoha elders, maybe rewind back to the beginning of their mission for Itachi and see what they were really up to. Deidara didn't believe for a second that the mission they had commissioned Itachi to do was truly for the safety of the village. Time to do more research.

But first, back to watching the fireworks display.


End file.
